Gray Treefrog sittin' in the spring sunshine like Buddha.

A Cottontail Rabbit.

A short botany lesson...Huperzia lucidula, or Shining Firmoss. The name lucidula comes from Latin meaning "shining" and a clear reference to the bright, vivid green color, more prominent at the beginning of Spring, sprouting in oak leaves scattered on the ground.

Garter Snake spotted on our walk. The German Shepherd Dog barking at it had no effect on his stillness.

Today in nature...the Cinnabar Polypore fungus (Pycnoporus cinnabarinus). It's a type of bracket fungus easily identifiable by its bright orange-red color and fan-like or shelf-like shape. Also orange-red colored is the Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia comma).

A Persius Duskywing (Erynnis persius) butterfly. There are western and southern subspecies, with the eastern subspecies, Erynnis persius persius, being rarer and protected by law in some regions. It is one of the most commonly seen skippers in the West but rarer in the east.

The Giant Kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima) is the largest kingfisher in Africa, where it is a resident breeding bird over most of the continent south of the Sahara Desert. For the April #BirdWhisperer Prompt.

A graveyard of hopes and dreams of the stream fisherman trying to get their lure in the spot under the overhanging branches. Just something a bit whimsical for the #SundayFishSketch.

A Talamanca Hummingbird for the May #BirdWhisperer prompt. The Talamanca hummingbird is found in mountains from central Costa Rica into western Panama.

The Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus) or Indian Bear, is native to the Indian subcontinent. It’s also called the "Labiated Bear" for its long lower lip and palate used for sucking up ants and termites. It has long, shaggy fur, a mane around the face, and long, sickle-shaped claws.

For my Dad who passed this week…A white Jitterbug. It was one of his favorite baits, fished on moonless nights along the shore. Glub, Glub, Glubbing along the waters surface, tempting the largemouth bass stalking their evening meal below the waters surface. #SundayFishSketch

Found a book written in Chinese (I think) at the Library used book sale for 50 cents. It was printed on real , good quality paper stock so I decided to turn it into a sketchbook. So I started by drawing a Koi.

A playful panda bear on the book page paper.

#SundayFishSketch

The first friendly dragonfly this season is an immature male Common Whitetail (plathemis lydia). Notice under the dragonfly wing the deer fly biting my thumb. That deer fly attracted the dragonfly to my finger & the deer fly got his ounce of blood while taking the picture.

Captured this Eastern Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) laying her eggs in the middle of the trail. Kind of questioning her choice of spots.

An elephant created with marker brushes on a Chinese book page. (I think it is Chinese language)

One of my favorite dragonflies...a female Widow Skimmer. She sat so patiently for her photo among the wild dwarf raspberries along the trail.

Big old snapping turtle just giving me the look that says "Leave me the F alone." Nope. Got to get close for this beauty shot.

This Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans) hopped in and then out of the water, I am assuming so I could take its picture. They're one of the most abundant frogs where it occurs, living in freshwater ponds, road-side ditches, lakes, swamps, streams, and brooks.